FedWire

Craig Luigart, who has been at the Education Department since 1999, is heading to the Department of Veterans Affairs to head the Office of Policy, Plans and Programs.

Luigart was Education's chief information officer until early March, when department Secretary Rod Paige appointed William Leidinger as CIO and made Luigart deputy CIO and chief technology officer.

In his new position at the VA, Luigart will work with Ed Meagher, who is expected to be named acting CIO following the departure of John Gauss.

DOT to cut servers

The Transportation Department will consolidate its servers during the next 18 months to save as much as $25 million each year, said Daniel Matthews, the agency's chief information officer.

"There is nothing more important to us than doing that consolidation right now," Matthews said June 25 during a speech to industry representatives.

The server consolidation will focus on the back-room operations of the agency's 13 departments, he said.

DOT's goal is to more efficiently use information technology, Matthews said. Most departments buy servers individually and do not maximize those resources. The goal is to streamline resources to save money.

"We will probably not save $1 billion," he said, "but we will definitely save more than $1 million." The agency expects to save from $20 million to $25 million annually, Matthews said.

DOT also is implementing new IT services contracts to replace existing governmentwide acquisition contracts, such as the department's Information Technology Omnibus Procurement program. The new contract will include three companies — two large businesses with small-business requirements and one small business, Matthews said.